Keyword: radiation protection

Dose reduction

A new way of concentrating radiotherapy dose in tumours, while minimising damage to healthy cells, has been proposed in research led by scientists at the University of Strathclyde. The study proposes that focusing high-energy particle beams on a small spot deep inside the body could potentially enable clinicians to target cancerous tumours precisely, while reducing the dose to surrounding tissue.…

Radiation meter

Radiation measurement often requires different devices for varying applications adding to the cost and complexity of data collection. The new RaySafe 452 Survey Meter is a versatile, powerful tool that can be used for multiple situations, reducing the number of devices technicians need to carry, learn, and calibrate. The 452 Survey Meter is the ideal tool to measure radiation in a wide variety of…

Quality assurance

IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.), the world’s leading provider of proton therapy solutions and radiation therapy integrated quality assurance (QA) for the treatment of cancer, announced at the ESTRO 38 congress, that it has reached the milestone of 1,500 myQA customers worldwide. Since the first release of myQA in 2015, IBA has rapidly expanded its customer base across the global radiation…

Low-dose CT

Jean-Luc Budillon, President & COO of Hitachi Medical Systems Europe, introduces the Scenaria View CT system. With its 80 cm gantry, it is one of the widest CTs on the market and perfectly equipped for low-dose imaging. The new SynergyDrive software reduces scan times and thus, enhances clinical workflow.

User experience and the optimisation of daily workflow

The professionals we all rely on to keep us healthy, they rely on X-Ray imaging systems empowered by flat panel detectors and software solutions provided by Thales. Our solutions offer superior accuracy and advanced image processing to help image interpretation while decreasing radiation exposure. They also include a variety of innovative features that simplify the daily workflow of healthcare…

Stand-alone MRI

Imagine being able to install a new MRI anywhere with almost no external restrictions. Based in Ulm, Germany, lnterflex Medizintechnik GmbH has supplied systems for Faraday cages and exclusive MRI interiors since 2005. In addition, all MRI-providers have relied on the international experience of this firm. “The Intercabin shielding room ensures the operating reliability of modern MRI-systems.…

Fighting cancer

New accelerator-based technology being developed by the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University aims to reduce the side effects of cancer radiation therapy by shrinking its duration from minutes to under a second. Built into future compact medical devices, technology developed for high-energy physics could also help make radiation therapy more…

'Is it safe?'

Communicating radiation risks is not only a legal requirement, it is also a moral obligation, asserts Dr Shane J Foley, radiographer and assistant professor at the UCD School of Medicine in Dublin, Ireland. Passing on radiation information has its pitfalls, but several helpful tools can improve communication, some of which the expert highlighted during ECR 2018. ‘When it comes to radiations…

Radiation protection

Nearly two-thirds of all cancer patients in the United States will undergo radiation therapy as part of their treatment, and as many as 90 percent of those patients will experience radiation dermatitis – a rash or burn on the skin. Topical treatments commonly such as silver sulfadiazine cream contain heavy metals. Therefore, patients have historically been advised to avoid using these…

Going nuclear

Experts outlined approaches to ischaemia imaging during the recent British Cardiovascular Society conference. In a ‘Detection of ischaemia by cardiac imaging in 2018’ session, comparisons were made between solid state SPECT cameras, whether spatial resolution or visual assessment was of the greater importance, if CT-FFR offered advantages over CT perfusion, and the challenges in defining a…

Radiation research

The electromagnetic radiation emitted from smartphones and similar devices may have negative effects on the memory of young people. Research conducted in Switzerland suggests that it might be a good idea to get rid of your smartphone from time to time.

Radiation garment

In today’s operating rooms, increasing fluoroscopic procedures keep interventionists at work longer, wearing the hugely heavy lead aprons necessary for protection against radiation. Chronic back pain is often accepted as something that simply comes with the job. Relief has arrived at last in the form of Zero-Gravity, a suspended radiation protection system designed to increase radiation…

Cooperation

For two-and-half day, 16 high skilled lecturers from Europe and USA, gave presentations at the 2018 special EFOMP/COCIR joint edition of the ESMPE School (European School for Medical Physics Experts) on “Computed Tomography. Technology, Dosimetry, Optimization”, that took place at the end of January 2018. With 80 participants of 24 nationalities, the school accredited by EBAMP (European Board…

Radiation protection

HERCA and COCIR are pleased to announce the outcome of their collaboration on optimising Computed Tomography (CT) dose. The collaboration has set out to minimise patient radiation exposure and to improve patient care. HERCA has published a report on the outcomes of the collaboration between HERCA and COCIR and with other stakeholders. This report and all relevant information can be found on the…

Cooperation

The ESR co-organised an IAEA regional workshop on justification and appropriate use of imaging in Zagreb from October 26-28. Part of an ongoing collaboration on issues of common interest with IAEA, the workshop, led by the IAEA’s Radiation Protection of Patients Unit (RPOP), allowed the ESR to present its work on justification, imaging referral guidelines and clinical decision support to…

Dose management

A new EC-funded project will bring together medical and radiation scientists, physicists and clinicians to enhance the radiation protection of patients and medical professionals. The four-year MEDIRAD project, which kicked off in June 2017, is led by the European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research – EIBIR (AT) and comprises a consortium of 33 partners from 14 European countries.

OnSight extremity system

Carestream will demonstrate its CARESTREAM OnSight 3D Extremity System that uses cone beam CT (CBCT) technology to capture high-quality, low-dose 3D extremity exams at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand meeting and exhibit that starts Sept. 7.

Tumor detection

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), in collaboration with colleagues from Heidelberg University Hospital, have been able to visualize brain cancer using a novel MRI method. They use a simple sugar solution instead of conventional contrast agents, which can have side effects in the body.

Dangerous journey

The cancer risk for a human mission to Mars has effectively doubled following a UNLV study predicting a dramatic increase in the disease for astronauts traveling to the red planet or on long-term missions outside the protection of Earth’s magnetic field.

Study

Doctors have found that treating prostate cancer with a single, high dose of radiation delivered precisely to the site of the tumour results in good quality of life and fewer trips to the hospital, with adverse side effects that are no worse than if the radiation treatment had been given in several lower doses.